An Oral History of a Vanity Fair Photographer’s Arrest at Occupy Wall Street

On Tuesday, while covering the Occupy Wall Street protests and police raid, *Vanity Fair’*s own Justin Bishop was apprehended in a police roundup of journalists and activists. Not long after, his colleagues back at 4 Times Square were tipped off to his arrest thanks to an inquiry from another publication. Waves of panic and gossip flooded the 22nd floor. As bemused and then increasingly worried text messages and e-mails to Bishop went unanswered, staffers struggled to gather information and process the news. Meanwhile, higher-ups conferred with lawyers, who went to great lengths to make contact with him.

What follows is a series of interviews with Vanity Fair staffers, in the magazine’s grand tradition of oral histories, that tell the story of Bishop’s arrest.

Justin Bishop, Staff Photographer: I’d heard before leaving home that morning that the press had been sort of quarantined down at Zuccotti Park during the police clear-out the night before. I was curious to see how the day would go on that front—police cooperating with photographers and the like. I had yet to hear of any journalists being arrested, though, so wasn’t exactly on high alert—and frankly, didn’t even imagine the possibility. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at Liberty Square. It was typical O.W.S.—mic checks and signs, gawkers and hardcore participants. Once everyone started hopping the wall into the private section of the park, and the bolt cutters came out to cut a big hole in the fence, the police presence quickly escalated.

The arrests got under way in pretty ordinary fashion. None of the journalists on the scene were bothered at first. I was shooting without incident, made eye contact with several cops, in fact. Then all of a sudden the park was nearly empty, and from my end I couldn’t see that a few reporters had already been cuffed. Three officers were marching my way. I considered turning and hopping over the wall behind me, but figured it better to announce myself as press than to be charged with “resisting arrest” (or worse, being pulled down from the eight-foot wall in any kind of painful way). They grabbed both my arms and snatched the camera out of my hands before asking for credentials. I didn’t actually think that my “*V.F.*Press ID” card or my business card would keep me from getting escorted away in handcuffs. But foolishly I did think it would assure I get hauled off along with the other journalists, and given a warning before being released. Not quite. We were processed and put on the bus along with the rest of 'em. Off to One Police Plaza, photographed along the way.

Carly Holden, Public Relations Associate: DNA.info called because it heard about a Vanity Fairphotographer who was arrested from one of their reporters. I didn’t even know that Justin was down there, let alone getting arrested. I asked [Vanity Fair Digital Editor] Chris [Rovzar] and [Associate Digital Editor] Sarah [Ball] and confirmed that he was, in fact, down there. I thought, “Meh, he’ll be fine.” If any of us were going to be arrested, Justin was probably going to handle it the best.

It was late, I wanted lunch. I didn’t want to be too hungry when I went to lunch because then I would eat too much and want to nap and I’d miss The Justin Situation. I was stressing out about the need for food—not Justin.

Geoff Collins, Editorial Finance Manager: I called [Associate to the Managing Editor] Mark [Guiducci], and [Editorial Researcher] Jack [Deligter] answered, and out of curiosity, I was like, “Why are you picking up the phone?” Jack was like, “Did you hear Justin got arrested?” I initially thought he had done something bad the night before—like a bar fight or something—but someone informed me he was shooting the protest. I went on this local New York Web site that I check a few times throughout the day, DNA.info, and five minutes later saw this headline, like, “Journalists Arrested.” I was like, “Huh. I wonder if Justin’s in this video.” I wanted to see if he was talking back to the guy, but he was pretty mellow.

Chris Rovzar, Digital Editor: Carly, one of our P.R. people, received a call from DNA.info and I overheard her tell a reporter that she was probably mistaken, we didn’t have anyone down at Occupy Wall Street. Then she asked me if we did and I said, “Yes, Justin.” Then she said that he might have just been arrested. I actually thought it was impossible that that had happened, and if it was him it was the sort of thing where they were just clearing people out of there. I had [VF.com blogger] Juli [Weiner] text Justin. And Justin, like a 16-year-old girl, is attached to his phone, so when he didn’t text back, I knew there was a problem.

Juli Weiner, VF.com Blogger: I also called Justin and he didn’t pick up. But I didn’t know if he’s one of those people who just habitually never picks up his phone because I don’t think I’ve ever called him before. It was a really crazy time; there were a lot of variables.

By Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

Sarah Ball, Associate Digital Editor: The first I heard that Justin had potentially been arrested was from Carly Holden, my colleague and dear friend. Someone had called her with news that a Vanity Fair staffer had been taken into custody by the police. I swiveled around in my desk chair and saw that Justin wasn’t at his desk and no one had seen him all day, so I thought, “I don’t know? Maybe?”

__Rovzar:__I ran across the office to alert [Vanity Fairmanaging editor] Chris Garrett, who was in a meeting, so I alerted her assistant, Mark, who seemed to understand the gravity of the situation. I must have caused such a fuss because you can’t run in the office without causing a fuss.

Mark Guiducci, Associate to the Managing Editor: I really wasn’t as integral a part of this story as everyone thinks—Chris Garrett was really the hero. Chris Rovzar ran over to my desk, calm and cool but with purpose, and was like, “We think there’s a situation developing. It may be an emergency.” And not five minutes later, we got The Call. Now I know what it’s like to get The Call.

__Bishop:__After the long and slightly disorganized process of loading everybody onto the bus, I sat there feeling pretty helpless (you know, handcuffs and all) and embarrassed (was Carly going to have to answer a bunch of calls about this?). Despite the cuffs, I actually attempted to fish my cell phone out of my pocket. Then I remembered that scene from Lethal Weapon 2 when Mel Gibson dislocates his shoulder to get out of a straight jacket. I have a shoulder that pops out pretty easily; could I somehow dislocate it to get my arms in front of me and... then one officer gave me a look and said, "Take it easy, buddy. You’re fucking arrested." How did he know I was about to do that Lethal Weapon 2 move?

Anyway, it was a pretty uneventful ride to the pen. Except it was pretty cool being able to cut through crosstown traffic, running lights and stopping cars.

I got to the station and gave up all possessions—forked over ID and such—then pleaded with my arresting officer for a phone call. “I’ve been polite and cooperative throughout, officer, and I’m pretty sure I’m allowed a phone call.” He told me to tell it to one of the higher ranking officers, so I did, adding that I would at least like to assure everyone in my office of my whereabouts (and maybe calmly ask if they might do everything in their power to get me out). He escorted me to a small cluttered office down the hall with an old-fashioned phone in the middle of the desk.

So, one phone call: Chris Garrett, no doubt. It was upon Mark picking up and excitedly screaming, “Justin?!” that I learned word had already spread. Chris was amazing. So reassuring, said all the right things.

Rovzar: Then I called D.C.P.I. and was like, “One of my journalists has been arrested!” And they’re like, “This is the number you call to get press passes.” They told me Justin was not in the system, like he hadn’t been processed yet, and there’s not anything they could do until he was in the system and that there were a lot of people arrested and it would probably be awhile.

I conferred with Chris Garrett, and she decided we should get lawyers involved. It became clear that it could go on a long time, and both of us kept saying, “But he doesn’t have anything to read!” Then Justin called her.
Justin was the best person this could have possibly happened to. I kept thinking that while we were back at the office freaking out, Justin was probably perfectly fine, even surrounded by, like, homeless people with T.B. trying to make out with him.

Holden: I thought that he could handle it. From his rugged upbringing—where’s he from? Like Berkeley, California?—to … didn’t he live through the [1960s] Oakland Riots or something?

Bishop: There were about 75 people locked up in the holding cell. Enough room to breathe, and for a few people to stretch out, but not exactly comfortable. A pecking order had definitely been established, but it was all O.W.S. protesters, and all (for the most part) were peaceful, and accommodating. That said, I was definitely happy to have the company of the other journalists there.

__Ball:__Justin is really the spirit animal of the Web, which means that when there’s no Justin, there’s no Web. Without his presence we can’t work to the standard to which we’re accustomed. There was a big Web-site bug where photos kept disappearing, and we thought maybe it was because of Justin’s detainment.

The general tenor of the office was whispery, with darting eyes—a sense of angst and surprise settled over the cubes. Surprise because one, it was hard to imagine police rounding up journalists wholesale, given the time of day and that the protests weren’t reputed to be violent at the time. And two, because Justin, who is so fastidious and good at his job, is a nimble and discreet enough photographer to cover the Oscar party.

I had a sense of reservation about going to lunch. Maybe I should stay here and be on call? But I didn’t feel bad enough not to go eat with my friends. Is everyone reading this? Right. During my brief and efficient absence for a meal with my colleagues, word of Justin’s arrest had spread and festered floor-wide.

Holden: I didn’t want something like this to spoil my first lunch date with Sarah and Juli.

Bishop: I had skipped breakfast that morning in my rush to get out to the protests. By two o’clock or so I was getting pretty hungry. The thought, however, of actually eating one of the many cheese sandwiches strewn around the room never even crossed my mind.

Ball: Once we realized we could direct our energies toward a welcome back party, we became a lot more animated. [Digital Design Editor] Hamish [Robertson] made propaganda.

By Preston Rescigno/Getty Images.

Guiducci: Throughout the day, we talked to lawyers within the company, and it seemed like they were going to hold him like any common criminal.

Rovzar: Lawyers are surprisingly not soothing sometimes.

Bishop: By four o’clock or so I was getting pretty impatient. The crowd was getting restless, and the thought of staying overnight didn’t thrill me. I was told nothing of my status—had no idea that a few lawyers and several *V.F.*staffers were trying to make contact with me. I was released at about 5:30 p.m., and was thrilled I wouldn’t have to stay the night.

Holden:[When I heard he was freed] I did a huge fist pump. I hope that he will reintegrate into society with ease, and that his time on the inside wouldn’t have changed him. I wondered whether to reach out to social-worker friends about the reintegration process—one never knows when P.T.S.D. can strike—but then it occurred to me that I don’t have any friends who are social workers.

Rovzar: When Chris Garrett came over to tell me he was freed, she was brimming with joy and energy. There are reports that upon hearing, I squealed. I can’t confirm that. Anyway, I had promised my staff on Monday that this week was going to be a good week and Tuesday one of my staffers spent the day in jail. I felt … incorrect.